THE GENESEE FARMER. 



235 



on of the new method of husbandry invented by 

 [r. Tuxl. 71 



Three pecks of seed were sown per acre, and the 

 ield was from 25 to 50 bushels. 



Next we have a letter from the Rev. Mr. Jack- 

 3n, " on the causes of rank, coarse meadows, and 

 ultivating cabbage as food for cattle." He had a 

 leadow that was "wet, pouchy, overrun with 

 ishes and flags, and the little grass that grew on 

 . was coarse and rank." He thought at first "it 

 r as owing to some deficiency of the soil." [We 

 ifer from this that there was the same talk about 



exhaustion of the soil " in those days as now.] 

 [owever, he dug deep drains to carry off the su- 

 erfluous water, and then had the land covered with 

 3al ashes and plowed. Thinking this was not 

 eep enough, he hired "several stout laborers and 

 greed with them to dig it two spits deep. He 

 len planted cabbages and allowed four feet to 

 ich plant. At first," he says, " the plants seemed 

 mattered, and at a great distance from each other ; 

 ut they soon began to thrive apace. I took great 

 ire that the intervals were kept quite clear of 

 r eeds by frequent hoefng ; and twice in the sum- 

 ler I caused them to be stirred with the spade : 

 lis had a surprising effect, and the plants grew to 

 wonderful size and weight, the land seeming en- 

 rely covered by them. 



" When my crop of cabbages was come to per- 

 sction, I caused some of them to be boiled for my 

 imily use, and with great satisfaction found they 

 r ere much sweeter than any I ever had from my 

 itchen garden : this I attributed, and perhaps not 

 ithout reason, to the land not being dunged. 



" Being at a loss what to do with my crop, which 

 r as not saleable in my neighborhood, I came to a 

 ^solution of giving them to my cows, which fed 

 q them plentifully, and greatly increased in the 

 uantity of milk they gave ; but the milk had a 

 isagreeable taste, as well as the butter which was 

 lade from the cream of it ; but for this I soon 

 >und a remedy by using Hale's method of ventila- 

 ng it. 



" I afterwards, with some of these same cabba- 

 es, brought four large hogs so forward in flesh, 

 tiat sis bushels of barley meal made them all 

 ompletely fat and fit for the pickling tub ; and 

 hey turned out most excellent pork, without any 

 ye-taste. I must, however, notice that I was at 

 rst obliged to cause the cabbages to be boiled for 

 he hogs, to induce them to eat hearty ; but they 

 fere soon by degrees brought to relish them raw. 

 " My poultry were extremely fond both of boiled 

 nd raw cabbages ; and my draught horses, when it 



was cut small, relished it much when mixed with 

 oats, and seemed rather to thrive from the change 

 of food; they also ate much less hay than usual. 



" I was not at all displeased with my experiment, 

 and I have every year since caused a piece of mea- 

 dow to be dug and planted with cabbages for the 

 above purpose. 



"In the spring, I caused all the stalks to be 

 pulled up, and the land strewed over with the 

 sweepings of my loft and the bottoms of my hay- 

 stacks, adding some seed of the sweet, white-flow- 

 ered, or honey-suckle trefoil: I then ordered my 

 wox-kmen to fill up the drains with witch-elm fag- 

 gots ; over them were laid some large stones, and 

 the whole covered with loose earth, sown with hay 

 seed like the rest of the meadow. 



"It is now five years since I laid it down again 

 in grass, and there has not in that time been the 

 least appearance of either rush or flag." 



Next we have articles on the use of "sea- 

 waure " (sea- weed) as manure, on the culture of 

 " saintfoin," " on transplanting some trees in sum- 

 mer whilst they were in full leaf." This was done 

 successfully by cutting in the branches so as to cor- 

 respond with the loss of roots. 



This writer also incidentally remarks that the 

 bark.on the north side of trees is thicker than on 

 the south side, and that in transplanting care 

 should be taken not to turn the trees round so tha 

 the thin and tender bark on the south side should 

 face the cold north winds. The editor, however, 

 remarks that "Mr. Miller [We suppose the author 

 of the Gardeners' Dictionary] says he has many 

 times made the experiment, and could perceive no 

 visible difference in the thriving of the plants." 



A correspondent asks several questions which 

 are left for the readers to answer — such as : 



" What is the best method of managing upland 

 pastures?" 



" Might not tares or grey peas be to advantage 

 sown, to use either as green or dry fodder ?" 



"What is the best method of flooding mea- 

 dows?" 



•' How are Jlow meadows to be managed, and 

 which is the best method of improving them ?" 



" Which is the best method of preserving the 

 grass and destroying the weeds, in meadows and 

 pastures ?" 



" What is the best manure for meadows and pas- 

 tures, and at what season and in what manner is it 

 laid on?" 



" When land is to be prepared for wheat, is it 

 not a good practice to sow tares or buckwheat, and 

 plow them in, when in lull sap, as a manure?" 



